Box Office: ‘Call of the Wild’ in Surprisingly Tight Race With ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’

Disney-20th Century’s launch of Harrison Ford’s “The Call of the Wild” is coming in well above pre-release forecasts, which had been in the $10 million to $18 million range. STX’s opening of supernatural horror sequel “Brahms: The Boy II” is headed for the low end of modest expectations, with about $6 million.

Paramount’s second weekend of “Sonic the Hedgehog” is sliding 68% after a stellar launch over the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. The film, a live-action and CGI hybrid about the world’s fastest hedgehog, should wind up the weekend with about $106 million in its first 10 days in North America.

“The Call of the Wild” is a PG-rated adventure about a dog named Buck — a CGI-created Saint Bernard-Scotch Collie mix — in an adaptation of Jack London’s 1903 novel set during Alaska’s Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. The film follows Buck, who’s stolen from his home in California and sent to Canada to haul freight, befriending Ford’s John Thornton, who’s hunting for gold, along the way.

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Reviews for “The Call of the Wild” have generated a 66% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, written by Michael Green (“Logan,” “Blade Runner 2049”) and directed by Chris Sanders, carries a $125 million price tag. Disney inherited the movie as part of its purchase of Fox’s entertainment assets last year.

“Brahms: The Boy II,” a PG-13 thriller based on the character from 2016’s “The Boy,” is playing at 2,151 venues in its inaugural outing. Katie Holmes stars in the sequel, which follows a young family that moves into the guest house of a terrifying mansion. It’s a low-cost gamble, given its $10 million price tag.

Warner Bros.’ third weekend of Margot Robbie’s “Birds of Prey” will probably finish third ahead of “Brahms: The Boy II” in the $6 million to $7 million range. “Birds” will wind up the weekend with $72 million in its first 17 days in North America.

Sony’s sixth weekend of “Bad Boys for Life” should come in fifth in the $4 million to $5 million range. The action-comedy franchise will have totaled $190 million at the domestic box office by the end of the weekend.

The Will Smith-Martin Lawrence vehicle has been the salvation of the 2020 North American box office, which has totaled $1.34 billion through Feb. 19, a gain of 6.1% over 2019, according to Comscore.